Generic inhalation devices are known in the prior art. The inhalation devices in particular serve to substitute normal tobacco consumption in the form of cigarettes or other tobacco products. In addition they can be used in particular for the withdrawal in the case of smokers. Here generic heating units serve to warm up the air or the additive materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,861 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,476 A, and EP 0472367 A1 disclose inhalation devices where the thermal energy is provided by a glowing coal element without a flame, the combustion gases that are produced being also inhaled by the user. DE 2704218 A1 discloses an application where a heating element is heated by the flame of a heating source, for example a lighter. U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,287 A and JP 2000 236 865 A disclose inhalation devices that combust a gaseous fuel. DE 19854009 A1 discloses an inhalation device where a heating means, in particular propane gas, is combusted in a closed combustion chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,965 B1 discloses inhalation devices where ethanol is combusted in a combustion chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,607 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,025 A disclose inhalation devices where ethanol is combusted without a flame in a catalytic reaction.
Concerning the prior art, it is considered disadvantageous that the handling of the known inhalation devices differs significantly from the conventional handling of a cigarette as known to a smoker, that the flame does not burn in the combustion chamber with sufficient stability, and/or that stabilization of the combustion process requires complicated technical measures.